


"I can handle it."

by alittlebugsheadx



Category: Riverdale - Fandom, bughead - Fandom
Genre: Broken-hearted betty, F/M, Forgiveness, Jealous Jughead, Jealousy, broken up bughead, jughead’s a twat at first, protective jughead, sexy Betty, spiralling Betty, wild betty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 16:15:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15538080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alittlebugsheadx/pseuds/alittlebugsheadx
Summary: Sweet Pea had led her onto the dance-floor-area, his much larger hand firm around her waist. And she had let him.She had had a lot to drink, so yes her vision was blurry, as was her thinking. But she knew one thing.She was going to drive Jughead out of his mind.





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn’t like they were together.

They were, technically, broken up.

But it still hurt.

And he knew, he was the one to break up with her. It was his decision. But he didn’t expect her to spiral like this. This was Betty Cooper, after all. The prim and proper girl. The girl next door. Miss Perfect.

Well, he knew that was one side to her. The side she let everybody see.

So when he saw her pressing up against him in the Whyte Worm that Friday night, he couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

And when she tangled her hands in Sweet Pea’s locks…and grinded her hips against his…and he cupped her cheeks…

Jughead was about to lose it.

But then…

She was the one to press her lips on his.

She was the one to push herself even closer to him, making him take a few steps back.

Jughead saw Sweet Pea whisper something into her ear and she nodded before following him out of the crowd.

Jughead knew she was drunk. She didn’t want this. She wouldn’t want this. Sweet Pea didn’t deserve her. No one did.

***

Betty was way past rock bottom. There’s heartbreak, rock bottom, then her. She was losing it, that was clear.

She had changed. There’s no denial there.

She dressed differently; her attitude had changed; and she was more…wild.

No more pretty, pink sweaters and blue jeans. Betty Cooper was a crop top, high waisted shorts girl. A tight t-shirt and mini skirt girl. Hair down, shirt unbuttoned kind of girl. A girl showing off her long, tan legs, as they wrapped around whoever’s waist. It didn’t matter who anymore. It wasn’t the same.

Her grades hadn’t dropped but her enthusiasm had. She wasn’t stupid. She was heartbroken, not an idiot. She knew she had to maintain her 4.0 GPA and honestly, she wanted to.

She wanted to do well in life, but right now…well she just wanted to have fun. As much fun as it would take to forget him.

But she wasn’t succeeding. It was very difficult to try and forget about him. But she had no other coping mechanism.

And that’s why, when Toni invited her to drinks on Friday, she said yes.

Would she regret it?

Well, that’s not something the new Betty would have to worry about.

***

She saw him, watching her. He rested against the wall, near the corner, unlit cigarette held between his lips, practically drilling holes into her with his eyes.

Great.

He deserved it.

After thinking she couldn’t handle shit, let’s see how much he can handle.

Sweet Pea had led her onto the dance-floor-area, his much larger hand firm around her waist. And she had let him.

She had had a lot to drink, so yes her vision was blurry, as was her thinking. But she knew one thing.

She was going to drive Jughead out of his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Betty didn’t want Sweet Pea. She knew it was bad of her. Using him. But she was pretty sure he just wanted to get into her pants. So…in that twisted way, she tried to justify her actions to herself.

She had her hands tangled into his hair as she battled his tongue with her own. He had a hand on her ass and another on her back, holding her close to him. She pressed her hips into his, feeling his arousal against her, making him moan into her mouth.

She was wearing a tank top and tight shorts, which he couldn’t wait to take off. He whispered into her ear, “Do you want to go somewhere…more private?”

“Sure,” she mumbled, and he took her hand.

Betty stole a glance at Jughead, who had his brows furrowed whilst following Sweet Pea with his eyes. His posture had changed: he looked like he was about to walk over.

And he did.

They had made it outside, and just as the cold air hit them, hard, a loud voice boomed, “Betty!”

She whipped around to see him, letting go of Sweet Pea’s hand in the process.

The cold air helped her senses a little, and she managed to see him clearer: bloodshot eyes filled with desperation, bags darker than before, face paler, and he looked like had lost weight also.

“What?” It came out colder than she intended.

He held his hands out, unsure of where to place them, so just leaving them infront of him, like gestures, “Don’t do this. Please. I know-“

“Dude,” Sweet Pea interjected, “she’s fine. She’s not your girl anymore. So I don’t see why you should give a fuck.”

So much for the bro code, Jughead thought to himself.

“Betty, if you want to go…like you truly want to…go. But I just…if you’re going because you’re mad at me, and you’re just…please don’t. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” As he essentially begged her, he ran his hands through his hair, doing his best not to pull any out.

He didn’t want to cry, especially in front of Sweet Pea but he was very close to-

Suddenly her eyes lit up, alive with alarm, and her face went white. Quickly, she tried her best not to stumble, she rushed over to behind the dumpster and threw up her dinner.

Jughead rushed over to her side, holding her hair back and stroking her back.

Sweet Pea uncomfortably shuffled his feet, unsure of what to do with himself. It looked like Jughead was taking care of her, and well, his plans looked disrupted.

Betty wiped her mouth with her hand, although she had miraculously and successfully not gotten any vomit on her face.

She looked at Jughead, with an arm on his chest, to balance her. She looked at him with a similar, intense, sad look. “Jug…”

He breathed heavily, awaiting her response, but she instead, closed her eyes and passed out. He caught her, and held her up against him, before picking her up.

“Sweet Pea-“

“Don’t worry, man, I’ll get the door,” he opened the passenger door of FP’s truck.

Jughead placed her carefully on the seat before closing the door and turning to his fellow serpent.

“So, I’ve had a bit to drink, and I’m not really sure what’s happened so far, tonight…”

“It’s alright,” Jughead pat his shoulder before hopping into the driver’s seat and reversing out of the space.

***

Betty felt the cool air of the ceiling fan and the warm body laying next to her when she woke up.

It took her a minute to register where she was, who she was with, what time it was and what day.

His head was buried into the meeting of her neck and shoulder, and she felt his light snoring send vibrations down her spine. His arms were around her, and entangling themselves with her’s, as were their legs. She could see she was wearing his grey t-shirt, which smelt like him, and sweatpants, leaving him in only sweatpants.

Here she was, in comfort. Her happy place.

Jughead.

That’s all that really mattered isn’t it?

She turned over, to face him, “Jug, hey, what happened?”

His eyes fluttered open, much to his own reluctance, but he did want to take in the beauty that lay in his arms all night.

“Hey, Betts,” he brushed his lips against her cheek.

Intentionally? Unintentionally? She didn’t know. Either way, it still gave her goosebumps.

“Hey, so Jug-“

“You were drunk; about to go home with Sweet Pea; I came out of the Worm; you puked then you passed out; and here we are. Oh yeah, and you insisted I slept here with you,” he smirked.

She rolled her eyes as she climbed out of bed. Unfortunately.

Yes, she was happy in bed with him. And yes she wanted to be with him. More than anything. But he had broken her heart because he thought she was weak, when really that’s the last thing she is. And she expected him, of all people, to know that. So no, she wasn’t going to let him get a free pass this time, just because he’s adorable and smells good. Really good.

He groaned, “Why are you-“

“Because, Jughead, because.”

He knew why.

They weren’t together.

“Betty, I’m sorry,” he sat up. “You know that, don’t you? That I haven’t slept all week because, of well, you know. And last night…well, last night, I got the first good sleep since we broke up.”

She didn’t look amused, “I’m glad you got a good nights sleep. Now, I better be off.”

He tugged at her arm, pulling her back down.

“Betty. Betts,” he brought her face up to look at him. She needed to see the remorse in his eyes, “I love you. I really do. I know I didn’t show it. I just thought…I thought I was protecting you, I thought-“

“You thought I couldn’t handle it. I know. But Jug, if you really knew me…” she spoke softly. “You would know that I can handle it. I’m not weak and feeble. And you had no right to decide that I was. Out of all people…” her voice faltered a little, making his own eyes threaten tears to hear her this hurt, because of him. “Out of all people, I thought you would trust that I could handle it.”

He pulled her closer to him, still sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I know you can handle it. I do,” he whispered, “it’s just…I can’t. I can’t handle it.”

Her gaze dropped to his lips, briefly, as her face mirrored his: filled with sympathy for the other, longing, and love.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed, as a tear rolled down his face. She brushed it away, leaving her hand on his cheek and pressing her lips to his. He took hers eagerly, pulling her into his lap, with one hand on her neck, and the other on her waist. She cupped his face in her hands. It was a deep kiss, filled with everything that they had needed that week; the love they had needed, from who they had needed. It was filled with longing and desire; passion and admiration; lust and adoration. It was needed.

Betty could handle Jughead’s situation, but she couldn’t handle losing him-she had spiralled, that was clear.

Jughead needed to find a middleway of protecting Betty whilst letting her into his Serpent life, too. He had to learn how to handle it, because he wanted Betty in all aspects of his life, but he also wanted her safe and protected. It was going to be hard, there was no doubt about that, but it was possible.

He, also, couldn’t handle losing Betty.

When they broke apart, they rested their foreheads against each other and he whispered, “I love you,” to which she responded with a small smile, “I love you,” too.

-Fin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you thought :)  
> Check out my tumblr @alittlebugsheadx

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my tumblr @alittlebugsheadx :)


End file.
